The following article was published in Intersector on 17 December 2008.

ICG Forum helps agencies take action on integrity issues

Auditor General Colin Murphy, Public Sector Standards Commissioner Dr Ruth Shean, Corruption and Crime Commissioner the Hon Len Roberts-Smith RFD QC, Ombudsman Chris Field

Public authorities had a valuable insight into how the four Western Australian integrity agencies tackle integrity issues, through the successful Integrity Coordinating Group (ICG) Forum 2008 - Taking Action on Integrity Issues, held at Government House Ballroom on 30 October.

The ICG was formed in 2005 to promote and strengthen integrity in WA public bodies. The ICG is comprised of the Ombudsman, the Corruption and Crime Commission, the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, and the Office of the Auditor General. Current chair of the ICG, Corruption and Crime Commissioner the Hon. Len Roberts-Smith RFD QC said "Together the ICG agencies collaborate to support integrity in public bodies by encouraging coordinated research, evaluation and monitoring and fostering operational cooperation and consistency in communication and education."

Over 170 senior staff from State Government agencies, local governments and public universities attended the ICG Forum to hear the views of the integrity agencies on issues such as misuse of corporate credit cards, theft of government resources, inappropriate access and disclosure of confidential information and mismanagement of grievance processes. The Forum utilised professional actors to perform scenarios of these real life integrity issues followed by panel discussion with senior representatives of the integrity agencies.

The Forum illustrated that integrity in public organisations can be built by:

• Communicating clear organisational values and expectations of ethical conduct;
• Integrating values and ethical conduct into workplace practices, with regular monitoring such as audits, surveys and analysis of grievances and complaints, to allow issues to be addressed promptly; and
• Providing effective avenues for issues to be raised and for taking appropriate action.

Feedback from attendees was very positive with 97 per cent saying that they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the overall quality of the event. Auditor General, Colin Murphy said that "though we were pleased with the way the Forum was received we are already considering improvements and in this regard, suggestions made by attendees will help shape the next ICG Forum."

Chris Field, Ombudsman, said of the Forum "As the key messages discussed during the Forum are enduring, and we think bear repeating, the ICG has produced a DVD of the Forum. The DVD will also be an important mechanism to facilitate the ICG’s shared commitment to communicating about integrity issues throughout the State."

Public Sector Standards Commissioner Dr Ruth Shean launched the ICG’s latest information brochure Taking Action on Integrity Issues at the Forum which identifies the various professionals who are there to assist public authorities in tackling integrity issues. Dr Shean said "Many of the messages in the scenarios at the Forum are reinforced in the ‘Taking action on integrity issues brochure’. This crystallises key messages about what to do when faced with an integrity issue. The brochure is a resource which has been prepared collectively by the ICG member agencies and brings together common messages."

"It is an example of how the ICG works together to promote and strengthen integrity in the WA public sector and to produce practical materials to assist them to deal with integrity issues and to promote high standards of integrity in their agencies", said Dr Shean.